


The Stolen Sight

by nicheofnight



Category: Original Work
Genre: :(, :), Anxiety, Arranged Marriage, Awkward Flirting, Awkwardness, Character Death, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gods, I'm bad at writing, I'm sorry about this, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Interspecies Awkwardness, Kidnapping, M/M, Magic, Mental Illness, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Lives, Romantic Soulmates, Seeing the future, Self Harm, Shyness, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, all of these characters are very dear to me, but the main story has changed like a million time, expect long-winded descriptions, god powers, i hope this one is better than some of the other options, i've legit been working on this for like two years now, please tell me things to fix, sorry about this, thank anyone who reads this, this is sorta for my therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-05-26 05:22:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14993702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicheofnight/pseuds/nicheofnight
Summary: Cecil Rosewood spent his life isolated from others. First of all, he was the child of a god, and was therefore worshiped in some ways rather than being treated like a normal Tairen warrior, the only thing he had ever really wanted to be in his life. Then their was the whole "soulmate" issue, since he had been blessed with a soul partner who had never once responded to him, no matter how hard he tried to get them out of their shell. All of that paired with his arranged marriage to another demigod, Anastasia, the princess of the Qetzel, who was both extremely loving, and smothering with the amount of attention given to her dream partner. When he is sent on a mission to the Lyrine empire because of some information on a supposed moon demigod, Cecil meets the odd, one-eyed Lyrine named Elian, who seems strangely aware of the truth to what is happening around them, even where others are not.





	1. Prologue

Long ago, when the ten species, led by the ten patron goddesses, lived alongside the monsters and odd creatures of this world, a child was born: the spawn of the moon goddess Lyris, blessed with the ability to see into the future. Her name was Wren, and she lived in the mountainous lands of Lyris' own people. They were known as  the Lyrine, the winged people of the cold north. It was not long until the knowledge of Wren's powers spread to all of the ten species, and people flocked to her from all of them, hoping for the answers to their most deeply held questions. Some asked of the weather for the coming seasons, hoping to plant the best crops every year. Others asked her for their date of death or the way in which they would die. Many asked for the identity of their soulmate, the person they were fated to perfectly match with. As her powers grew, she used them to fix those questions before they were asked, most well known being the gift of the soul connection, a power that psychically connected those who would be considered soulmates. As she slowly began to answer things before they were asked, the flocks of people dwindled. The world was once again peaceful, until one day the leaders of all ten species asked Wren to tell the future of the land of Reia as a whole, to look farther into the future than she ever had before. At first, she denied their request.

 

"My Kings, my Queens," she declared, "Fate is a careful balance. If I tell you the future, you may seek to change it, and I cannot guarantee that you will create a future you will want."

 

"Please Wren!" they begged, "This is the only thing we have ever asked of you, we must know if the future looks well upon us."

 

"You grovel at my feet as if I am a kind goddess who will give you whatever you want if you beg." she grumbled, "You must remember that I live upon this planet too, and that this may affect my life just as much as any other."

 

Although she at first was adamant in not telling them the future, Wren was still only a child of 11 years, and the monarchs were so relentless that she was finally forced to agree. She sat down upon her velvet throne, looking out over the rolling hills to the south, and concentrated on seeing the distant future,

 

" The future is seen, fate held in the balance, " Wren began. "I see in the distance, far beyond the setting sun, a horror befit the highest of crimes. The ten species will be overrun, the temples of the goddesses destroyed, all at the hands and claws of the monsters that once ruled Reia. At their hands, all will fall. Reia will be forced to return to it's primal state, ruled by the power and greed of animals. This is the future I see for the world, caused by- "

 

Before she completed her prophecy, Wren collapsed, her mind still incapable of truly seeing the far distant future. Without more information, nine of the ten leaders decided that they had to get rid of the monsters before they were all destroyed, leaving only the Lyrine royals waiting for Wren to return to consciousness and finish the truth she had seen. The other nine began to hunt for the monsters in an attempt to destroy them all. They burned forests and grasslands in their desperate attempt to avoid the horrid future that had been foreseen. The creatures began to run for the only place that they would be safe: the Outlands, a place in which the ten species could not survive. 

  
  


Back in the Lyrine kingdom, Wren finally awoke after her long sleep and learned what had been done. In horror and confusion, Wren ran to the place where the other nine had gathered to finally push the monsters into the outlands, hoping that they would die and save Reia from the fate Wren had seen. 

 

"Wren, look!" they called joyously, pointing to the herds that ran fearfully for their lives. "Thanks to you, our peoples have been saved. How can we ever repay you?" Without a word, the oracle fell to the ground, her eyes filled with tears,

 

"What have you done?!" She screamed, her voice raw and scratchy, "You have banished our most loyal friends to a life of suffering!" 

 

"We have only done what you told us to do," they said in confusion, looking around at one another, "You told us that they would destroy everything, so we had to kill them before that time came." 

 

"You did not let me finish my prophecy!" she accused. "This action is what causes the fall of all of the species! In your foolishness, you have doomed us all to a life knowing that we will one day fall." 

 

The rulers looked around in confusion, searching in one another's eyes for such a crime, and finding only the same look reflected back at them. Wordlessly, they came to a decision that would change the world forever,

 

"Wren, this is your fault!" they declared. "Without your power to see the future, none of this would have happened! The future is never meant to be looked upon!" 

 

Acting on fear alone, the peoples lunged at Wren and tore out her future-seeing eyes, ripping them from her heart-shaped face and stomping them into the ground, destroying their magic forever. Wren screeched in horrible, unending pain as her sight of the future and her sight of the present were stolen from her. When they finally came to their senses again and saw what they had done, the nine monarchs fled from the scene, leaving Wren in terrible pain and without sight to guide her. 

  
  


A few days later, when the Lyrine entourage finally reached where Wren had been left, they found her body beaten into the dirt by thousands of fearful feet. Enraged at the betrayal by the other nine kings, the Lyrine picked up their fallen daughter and returned to their homelands, where they gave her a true burial beneath the eyes of her divine mother. After the murder of her daughter, Lyris placed a curse upon the rest of the world, dooming them to the fate they sought to avoid since they could no longer see the future without her. Without another child of the moonlight, all of Reia, aside from the Lyrine empire, would be destroyed when the monsters finally returned to take their rightful place on the earth. There would never again be a child of the moon to save them.

 

* * *

 

"Mother, does the curse still remain over the land?" a small voice asked as Lyris finished her story. "There must be some good in the ten realms aside from the empire, just as there must be some bad here. That is what you taught me, right?" Lyris paused, petting her young son's hair softly.

 

"Perhaps. There is good and evil everywhere, that's what makes this life. However, no matter what, I cannot forgive what was done to your sister, just as you should not." Above their heads, the sun was slowly rising, crossing the bluish-tinged sky. She sighed, "I wish you had met Wren. She was much like you..." Lyris murmured.

 

"Mother, one day, before the collapse, I want to visit the other nine kingdoms. I want to see them and record their good. This is my own wish." the shy boy said, watching his goddess mother with wide, lavender eyes. Lyris smiled, brushing the hair away from his face,

 

"One day, my son, you will see all that you wish. That is the future I see for you." As the sun rose over their clearing in the woods, Lyris' glittering form faded into nothingness, leaving her blue-haired son alone in the field,

 

"Sleep well, mother." He said, lifting himself from the ground. More carefully than ever before, he opened his soft feathered wings and flew into the sky, returning, like the rest of his people, to his nest in the tower, ready to dream away the long, hot day.

  
 

 **THE STOLEN SIGHT - PROLOGUE** **END**


	2. Rosewood

Cecil Rosewood had never been the sort of person who wanted to live in one place. Before he turned seven, he had spent his entire life on the road with his father, his stepmother, and his siblings, living out of their merchant cart. The merchant’s life was all that he had ever wanted, moving from place to place without being tied down, free to see as much of the world as possible as he traveled from place to place. When his magic finally started to show itself, Cecil’s dreams of traveling all across Reia were lost as he was carted off to Midas, the Tairen capital city, to spend the rest of his long, demigod life in its service. After that, there was no way that he would ever live the traveler’s life he so desired, as he would be forced to spend his existence protecting his people against the monsters of the outlands who sought to return to take over Reia, prolonging the inevitable fall alongside the many other Tairen demigods, as pinnacles of purity, lawfulness, and grace. There were a great number of Tairen demigods, actually, both from their own patron goddess, and many who were of the other eight goddesses. As one of Taira’s own sun-children, Cecil was seen as one of the highest among the demigods, and it was his fate to remain as that for the entire length of his life. The one way in which his place was lucky was that he could get away with almost anything as long as it didn’t hurt any of the general populous. Since there had been a lull in Taira’s children for a while, Cecil was important to remain as a figurehead for the entire government of Midas. Over his 12 years spent in Midas, he had gathered two groups of friends, one among the demigods themselves, and the others being a large collection of what were so lovingly titled “deviants” by the council. In fact, he had done such a large number of petty crimes that he had been all but banned from leaving the base, which wasn’t very much to a 19-year-old with magic and a large group of friends who knew how to pick locks.

 

Cecil was lying face down on a cot in Valeria Judge’s apartment, desperately trying to hide from the fact that he had not only snuck out of the demigod sanctuary, but had _also_ somehow managed to stay out so long that the sun had gone down without him noticing. Via rolled her eyes, standing up from where she was sitting on the end of the cot,

“Come on Cece.” She sighed, “Just accept your imminent death.” He looked up, glaring at her sharply,

“Don’t call me Cece.” He grumbled, planting his face back into the pillow at the head of the bed. She kicked his arm with her foot, huffing with exasperation,

“You have probably…  _ six  _ hours until it’s light enough that they’ll realize you’re gone and come looking. Let’s actually do something fun before you die.” Via dragged him off the bed, dropping him on the cold, hard ground with a thud.

“What sort of fun things do you expect us to be able to do  _ without  _ touching moonlight?” Cecil hissed painfully, rubbing what was sure to become a bruise on his knee. Via paused, seeming to drift in and out of thought,

“Oh… right… you’re whole  _ thing _ with moonlight.” She said softly, sitting back down on the cot,

“Yep. No stepping into the night as a child of a sun goddess. It’s kinda been a letdown for, well,  _ most of my life _ , and it won’t stop now just because I’m going to be crushed like a bug by a 200-pound man tomorrow at first light.” Cecil glanced out the window in Via’s room, noticing the few nocturnal plants beginning to sprout up around the city, bathing it in an odd blue-green glow. Because of the moon goddess’ distaste for his own celestial mother, any child blessed with the magic of the sun was doomed if they tried to walk in the night, since every creature would target them, especially the plants, which were the most common in the Tairen desert. Via’s short, dingo-like tail thumped on the mattress with annoyance as she considered their options. She sighed,

“I suppose we’ll be staying here for the night. I’ll go grab some things from the storeroom, you… stay here.” She stood up, marching into the hall with a hint of discontentment, and quickly returned with another set of sheets for the unkempt cot on the opposite side if the room, “Here, make yourself a bed, then we can find something to do that doesn’t involve leaving this house.” She threw the clean, folded sheets onto the bed and fell back against her own, grumbling to herself.

“Thanks.” Cecil muttered, picking up the fabric and beginning to cover the mattress with it. 

 

The two were silent for a long time as Cecil read one of the many books that Via had filled her room with (one of the ones that had been piled on what was now his bed, at least for this night. Via continued to giggle to herself as she wrote back and forth with her soulmate, a nightly ritual that the two had shared since their bond first became active. Cecil attempted to ignore her as he continued reading some sort of book on magic that existed in Via’s collection. He had always been slightly sensitive on the subject of soulmates, since his own seemed determined not to acknowledge him or respond to him in any way, clearly there, and yet not  _ enough  _ to actually mean anything definitive. It wasn’t that uncommon among demigods to have soulmates that ignored them, since people without magic who got close to them always seemed to die in increasingly horrible ways, something that tended to counteract any connection that might have been present, although Cecil remained unsure of any way that he might have hinted at that information. He caught himself looking longingly at his own arm, which was only marked with his own futile attempts to speak with his soulmate, and shoved the thoughts away, as well as his own hand. Via paused, looking up at him in the sort of piteous way that she did whenever something like this happened, which was annoyingly a lot.

“Cecil, you need to stop worrying about this.” She said, sitting up and hanging her legs off of the edge of her bed, “What if you  _ are  _ just feeling a phantom connection?”

“ _ I’m not. _ ” He hissed, glaring up at her from the book,

“Fine. Whatever. What I mean to say is that you can’t let your silent soulmate distract you like this. Besides, don’t you have a fiancé?” Cecil threw the book at her, hitting her slightly harder than he had intended in the center of her face. She grabbed her nose and rolled over, mumbling painfully. Cecil sat up straight, eyes widening as he realized what he had done,

“Oh my god, Via, I’m sorry.” He said, walking over to her, “Are you okay?” He placed a hand on her shoulder, only to have her swipe it away, stifling her own pained laughter, 

“Next time, hit Anastasia with a book the next time you see her, and don’t take out your frustration on me.” She said, grinning. Cecil sighed, lying face down on the floor in an odd mixture of confusion, relief, and exhaustion. Via leaned over, patting his back with one of her hands and continuing to place pressure on her bruised nose with the other, “Also, get worse at aiming please. You’re lucky you didn’t break my perfect face, Cece.” He looked up at her with one, green eye, mumbling some sort of tired apology into the floor, before banging his head into it a few times, “Are you going to sleep on the floor?” She asked, looking down at him. He nodded slightly, resting his head on the floor again. Via rolled her eyes, throwing one of her pillows onto him and reaching over to grab one of the blankets off of his bed, “It gets cold at night. You shouldn’t be sick when you die tomorrow.” She joked, falling back against her remaining pillow and returning to writing in small script along the underside of her arm. 

 

Cecil had grabbed the blanket and pillow, and was now sitting with his chin resting on the pillow as he read his book, still unwilling to move that far from the floor. For some reason, his muscles seemed adamant on not leaving the floor, no matter how uncomfortable it was for him. Suddenly, there was a snap that seemed even louder than it probably was, the silence of the night altering it’s reference. Cecil jumped, sitting up slightly to glance back at what had fallen, which was a thin, capless pen, one that Via had previously been using to write to her soulmate. He grabbed it, looking over the pen almost mindlessly as he ran it between his palms, memorizing every odd curve or marking along its barrel. He closed his eyes, letting all movement in his body cease for one long moment before placing the inked tip of the pen down on the skin of his arm, neatly sketching out a new sentence to add to the many he had written before, to no avail.

 

**_There is a balance in even the most confusing, non-uniform things._ **

 

It had been quite a while since Cecil had written anything remotely similar to a normal conversation starter. It had been early that he recognised his soulmate didn’t respond to anything like that, and so he had instead taken to writing odd, poetic-like sentences that had no real meaning other than what could be inferred. As he scrawled out the strange words, the flow to the deep, jet black ink made it obvious that both this pen and its ink had been meant for writing to ones soulmate, since the sort of ink it contained was not one that would stick well on papyrus, and would likely have bled too much. As Cecil finished the words, he held the pen tip down, creating a perfectly round full stop, but he didn’t take the pressure off for a while. He closed his eyes, letting the weight of the pen create a path into the in-between, the place between his and his soulmate’s minds   
  


It was black there. Inky, dripping black, that coated anything that it touched. Other people that he knew told of great fields of wildflowers, or waterfalls, or forests; mostly a mixture of the things that made them happy, and the things that made their soulmates happy. For Cecil, though, it was always black, like a room with no windows and no lights, barely able to feel the shapes around you, which in this place were thick and slow, like moving through molasses. It was the pool between two streams, but only one of them actually went in, that being his own. There was a heavy door between his own consciousness and his soulmates, only letting through the odd feeling that Cecil was not alone in this place. Perhaps it was like that for his soulmate as well, or perhaps they could feel more due to his own openness to their connection. Whatever the truth was, Cecil was left oddly lonely, barely able to sense someone else beside them, but unable to interact at all, since they seemed set on ignoring him. He let himself relax, trying to let the odd, surging emotions fade as he attempted to regain control of  _ anything  _ at the moment. His body, in the real world, felt heavy and limp, and his mind felt lost and cold, unable to find its way out of a maze. What was he doing? Why was he doing this?

The world seemed to pause, the wraps of time seeming to slip Cecil’s mind, and leaving him infinitely wandering through the nothingness. There was something odd about existence within this liminal zone, like he was floating somewhere between what was real and what wasn’t, a complex, convoluted enigma of a thing that seemed utterly ridiculous when contemplated. He found himself completely lost in this place, sinking and floating at the same time, breathing in water, and drowning in air, everything was wrong and right and oh so dark. Had it ever been this dark here before? Was this something new, something different? Why did he feel like this was the last time he would ever be visiting this place? He was clearly going to come back, it wasn’t like the other Tairen demigods were going to  _ actually  _ kill him, so it would probably only be a few days until he was back, but it still felt like a goodbye. This…  _ empty _ place had provided some sort of comfort to him since he was a child, because no matter how much it felt like it was smothering him, it also somehow felt like it was holding him together whenever he threatened to break. The inky oil filled in all of the cracks that had ever formed in his mask, keeping him steady and sane when he felt like letting his mind go. Maybe it was better to let himself fade away, to join the ink that kept him real and never go back to the outside world, which only served to hurt him. There was nothing left for him in the world from before, nothing that mattered, only things that hurt too much, hurt in ways he couldn’t bring himself to admit or think about. Who was he without this place? Was the world outside this dark embrace even real, or just a terrible nightmare that he was finally waking up from? There was a sudden push from the back of his brain, or somewhere within it that was still awake. It hissed a few words through his ears, like a plea,

“ _ Come back. _ ”

 

Cecil winced, reopening his eyes and blinking at the place where he had been more and more forcibly pressing the sharp pen tip into his skin. A small pool of blood had began to form, mixing with the deep black ink in an odd way as it began dripping down the side of his arm. He dropped the pen to the ground, suddenly looking around and realizing that he had passed out for what appeared to be a long time, perhaps hours. He slowly lifted himself off the ground, finding his bleeding arm oddly weak,   
“What is in that ink?” He mumbled, sitting up. His head suddenly burned with a migraine, one that seemed off and not quite real, like a hazy dream. He looked around the night-soaked room, finding it all but devoid of life, aside from the thin stream of fading moonlight that danced across the wood floors. Somehow, he found that the sun was already on the horizon, making the sandstone of the buildings seem to glow in red and orange. The sand from the dunes was already beginning to move with the heavy, early morning wind, and they seemed to have shifted a little to the west, although not by very much. He sighed, planting his face into the pillow as he resigned himself to the fact that he had annoyingly little time left. It was protocol to get up at dawn (although some of the non-sun demigods got up a little earlier), so he probably had a good hour after first light until they found where he was, and that it was not within the complex. Whatever his punishment was, it was sure to be awful if Alexi and Raiyn had anything to do with it, which they likely would considering his own track record. He almost wanted to try getting out of it, but there was really no point to any effort in avoiding the inevitable, especially considering the sheer number of magically-oriented people living in Midas currently, most of whom could at least feel his magic aura, if nothing more. 

 

Valaria sat up, yawning and stretching before her eyes caught Cecil, still curled up on the floor, but looking a lot more distant than she had ever known him to be. His eyes seemed lost in the light from the window on the far side of her room.

“Hey.” She said softly, hanging her legs off the side of her bed, “Are you doing okay?” Cecil seemed to rouse himself enough to look at her,

“Ah, um, yeah. Sorry, I had this odd dream. It kinda messed me up or something.” Via nodded,  

“It’s okay, I get it. I’ve just never really seen you zone out before I guess. It threw me off.” Cecil still seemed a little lost in his thoughts, but was awake enough to finally stand up. He handed Via back her pen wordlessly, hoping that she had not noticed the inky blood that was still dripping down his left arm. He pressed his other hand onto the wound, desperately hoping to close it before it got any worse, or stained anything,

“You tried talking to them again?” She asked, a slight bit of concern in her voice. Cecil shook his head,

“No, you just dropped the pen in the middle of the night. I held onto it to make sure you didn’t lose it, pens like these are  _ really  _ expensive, Via.” She nodded, reading the fine print along the side,

“Yeah, yeah, I  _ know  _ that a pen like this is a waste of money, blah blah blah. Don’t rant about things like this so early in the morning please.” She sighed, rubbing her forehead and hoping to brush away the pain of an early morning headache. Cecil shrugged, stretching a little along the joints of his shoulders,

“I wasn’t  _ going to,  _ thank you very much, because I also dislike complaining about unimportant things when my life may be on the line in a few hours.” Via stood up,

“Then we’re on the same page. I’ll go make us some breakfast, alright?” Cecil nodded, falling back against the pillow as she stepped over him. 

 

Cecil wasn’t sure how much time had passed while he was just sitting and staring up at the ceiling in her room, but it was long enough for the smell of fresh coffee and baked goods to fill the air in the room, swirling around him comfortingly. It reminded him of days when he was a kid, eating breakfast in between his parents and his siblings, sipping from the bitter coffee his father had every morning, and no matter how much he hated it, he always forced himself to drink it to seem mature. Nowadays he had a sort of begrudging enjoyment for the bitter drink, although he still couldn’t bring himself to drink it black, like his father had. Via walked back into the room, holding a glass of water which she unceremoniously poured on his face,

“Get up. There’s food.” She said with a hint of a smile before turning sharply and walking away, likely back into the kitchen. Wiping the lukewarm water out of his eyes, Cecil stood up slowly, blinking away the sleep that had wormed its way back into his head. He trudged down the sandstone halls, blinded by the dawning sun, and made his way to the kitchen, where a number of people were sitting around, sipping coffee; many of them his and Via’s other friends.

“Hey Cecil!” Called one of their companions, a man named James Jenovich, a Vitrion only by name. The fangs from within his toothy grin glittered in the bright lights, seeming to shine in an almost green color, “I didn’t think you could be up and out so early, man, what are you doing here?” Cecil smiled lightly, 

“Oh, you know, getting my last meal. I’m sure that I’ll be out of your hair in no time.” Jamie shrugged, lifting up his coffee into the air,

“Well then let's enjoy your time before the demis come to get you.” There were murmurs of agreement from a few of his other friends, as well as a few strangers who just seemed peer pressured to do so. Cecil smiled, grabbing a small cup and filling it with warm coffee before sitting at the table beside Jamie. He hummed, taking a sip of the drink,

“This blend is pretty good.” He said softly, before motioning to Jamie’s full plate of food, “How’s... all of  _ that _ . I’ve never had Via’s cooking before…” Jamie stared at it with concern,

“I’m not sure. It’s not  _ bad,  _ but it’s sure as hell not any  _ good  _ either. I think it’s going to give me food poisoning.” 

“That’s rude for someone who wouldn’t be eating breakfast without me,  _ Jenovich. _ ” Via said, glaring at him as she carried some more platters of food into the room. Jumping at the sharp hint to her voice, Jamie stuffed some of the fresh buns into his mouth,

“Perfect as always, Via!” He said brightly, grinning at her nervously. She rolled her eyes, walking over to their table with a plate of food for herself,

“ _ Thank you _ .” She said, placing one of the rolls in her own mouth, “Besides, this is Lee’s recipe, so don’t be rude.” Jamie blinked down at the food,

“Well, either your soulmate is crap at cooking, or  _ you  _ are.” He mumbled, receiving a slap on the face with a plate for his words. Via looked at Cecil, worry filling her eyes,

“Aren’t you going to eat?” She asked. He shook his head,

“No, I’m pretty sure that would be even less allowed than going out. I  _ am  _ on an eating regimen.” Via rolled her eyes,

“Yeah, yeah. Drink some more coffee then, I don’t want you leaving while starved, it would look bad on me as a host.” Cecil smiled at her, standing up to refill his small cup,

“Thanks V.” 

 

There was a sudden, loud knock on the door, causing a great number of the guests to jump up, pulling out their various weapons. Via motioned to put them down as she walked to the door, looking back towards Cecil with pity. She pulled open the heavy door, unsurprised to find the hulking form of Alexi Nora standing and waiting for her,

“Oh, Mr. Nora. What brings you to my humble abode on this fine morning?” Alexi looked past her and scanned the room,

“Miss Price, you have a number of convicted criminals in here. Do you know the liability that is for your…” He paused, looking back at her with a judgemental eye, “ _ Business? _ ” Via leaned on the doorframe, rolling her eyes,

“Is your business here to judge my customers, or are you just an asshole?” Alexi sighed,

“Is Rosewood in there?” He asked, glancing at the few tables behind her,

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” Cecil grumbled, placing his mug down on the table, and waving slightly to Jamie. He stepped around Via into the open air of the outdoors, which was now glittering with early morning sunlight in varieties of gold and orange,

“See you around Cecil.” Via said softly,

“See you around.” He replied, stalking past Alexi and out into the sand. Via shut the door sharply, causing the other demigod to follow Cecil, grabbing him tightly by the wrist and slightly dragging him on their way back to the compound,

“What were you doing out?” Alexi asked, glaring down at the younger demigod, “I thought that you were told not to leave the area unless  _ ordered  _ to do so, and I  _ certainly  _ don’t remember anyone ordering you to go and hang out with your friends.” Cecil didn’t respond, instead choosing to look around at the various businesses that had not yet opened. As they turned a corner into a shady alleyway, Cecil noticed Rainn alongside a group of three sandhounds, which were drinking from a trough of water.

“So he was with Valeria, huh?” She asked. Alexi nodded, patting his sandhound, a huge, dusty colored mutt, with one hand. With the other hand, he pushed Cecil towards his own dog, Dodge, a large, wolfish sandhound. Dodge licked at his hands, although it was obvious that she was picking up on his own anxiety about the situation,

“Let’s head back to the complex, alright?” She asked, getting up on her sandhound and starting to lead the dog out of the alley. Dodge followed her hound, sandwiching him in between the two others. As the dogs rushed across the hot sand, the greyish building that made up the demigod campus faded into view, shifting like a mirage on the horizon, bringing with it the knowledge that all was not quite right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I updated! Sorry if the species are a little confusing right now, don't worry the next chapter will go into the reasons why Tairen have tails and some other info on the ten. I will also be going back in to check on the moon child who /will/ be important, so the prologue is needed for understanding. He will likely show back up within the next few chapters as well, at least before chapter 5. 
> 
> Cecil is also very important, and is normally less whiney and depressed than he seems in this chapter, at least on the outside, so his characterization should be better later on.
> 
> Thank you for reading The Stolen Sight, and I hope you continue to enjoy!


	3. Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THIS!! I kept trying to, but this chapter is really long and kinda boring. Sorry if it's boring to read, just know it was 100000% more boring to write and I am updating at 2:33 because I will not put this on hold any longer. (I'm really tired. Someone force me to go to bed). So, again, sorry for the hiatus, hopefully I will be back to updating around once a week since I'm actually back to fun stuff. Get ready to meet my second sweet boy, since he hasn't shown up really yet. 
> 
> Just as a note, I write all of these in google drive first (of course) and this chapter is eleven pages in 9-point font. It is also WIP titled "begone THOT" so people have been seeing me write in a page titled that for nearly three weeks. The struggle of joke names.....
> 
> Also, thank you so much for reading. Even knowing there are a few people out there who like my work makes it all worth it. I'll keep doing this for you~
> 
> Alright, time to sleep. Have fun reading this new chapter!

Long ago, far before the times of Wren, or even the times of the ten species, the land of Reia was an animal one. The warring creatures from all sides of the land were in a sort of deadly limbo as they scrambled to rule over all of Reia and destroy one another. They fought with tooth, claw, talon, and pincer in any attempt to kill and survive, with the carnage spreading to every corner of Reia. Far above them, in the heavens, sat the ten goddesses, great and powerful creatures of unknown origin, even to themselves, once considered to be the evolution of the aquatic creatures in the oceans. At first, the goddesses did not care for the plight of the creatures, instead seeing them as an awful scratch on what was otherwise a perfect world, however, all of that would change at once on a singular, perfect day, when the horrible screams of pain and pleas for help finally reached the ears of the goddesses in the heavens. They were horrified to discover that the creatures of Reia were just like them, although less evolved in many ways, and they found themselves suddenly and disgustingly empathetic to the poor things. They held a meeting to finally decide what would be done about Reia and the creatures on it,

“We must end this horrible war so that we no longer have to listen to their screams.” the goddess Qetre began, 

“There must be a peaceful resolution to this conflict.” Virie agreed, “Although I do not know how to begin. We barely know anything about the creatures.” 

“Perhaps we should visit with them?” said Ciris thoughtfully, “If we spread out across Reia, we could work together to understand and end the conflict.” 

“That makes sense, but we would stick out if we tried to blend in, seeing as we know nothing about them.” Lyris added, her silvery eyes flickering with interest, “We should go as we are, and explain our purpose in their land. Then we could learn of them without lying to them.” The others agreed, and they each decided to take their own area to learn of the creatures within in the hopes that they could fix the war.

 

Taira, the goddess of sun and fire, traveled to the central south, where a great, dune-filled desert lay in her glowing light. As she traveled across the golden sand, she found only minimal evidence of any animal life, sprinkled around fields of spiky cacti and other strange-looking succulents. Whatever animals she did find scurried away from her, completely in fear of the giant invader that was crossing their lands. 

“Why in the world are we not allowed to transform into them? Wouldn’t that make this easier, Lyris?” She asked to no one in particular. For a moment, she considered ignoring Lyris’ warning, but her future-seeing sister was likely right about everything, as always. Taira had spent more than an hour amongst the hot, painful dunes, which in the afternoon sun seemed to burn her feet like coals, something that she appreciated very much about the land. It was only as she turned a corner that she realized she was being followed by a pack of desert creatures, odd wolf-like dogs that slunk through the day silently. She turned to face them suddenly, startling the hounds a slight bit, before they moved in on her, surrounding her in a quick beat,

“You, outlander not of the desert place, what is your purpose here?” The leader growled, his golden eyes narrowing, “Do you seek to encroach on our hunting grounds? Or perhaps you seek to  _ destroy  _ us?” The canine grinned, “Foolish outsider, it is  _ you  _ who shall be destroyed here.” The others barked in agreement, circling their prey like sharks amidst the seafoam. Taira was not phased by their actions, keeping her eyeline firmly upon the leader,

“I am Taira, ruler of all sun and fire. I have come to your desert lands in search of the cause of the war upon this great land. If you will not heed me, I shall smite you.” As a show of force, she burned a line along the grainy desert floor. The dogs eyes widened as they realized the truth of her words and paused their movement. The lead dog bowed his head to her slowly, closing his eyes,

“I apologize for our insolence, Lady Taira. We sandhounds bask in your light each day, for it leads us across the ever-changing dunes. Please, whatever you need of us, we will give.” The other dogs followed suit, bowing and each whimpering their apologies and appreciation for the goddess. For the first time in her life, Taira was not seen as an equal, but as a more powerful being, something to be worshipped and pampered. She felt…  _ powerful,  _ and she did not want that feeling to end,

“I accept your sincere apology, hounds of the sand, and I give you my blessing. You are the first species on this land to recognize my power and worth, and so I will keep you by my side for the rest of eternity.” She decreed, 

“Thank you, Lady Taira!” The sandhounds barked joyously, “For you, we would go to the end of the world.” Guided by her new subjects, Taira descended into the depths of the desert.

 

Kithe, the goddess of summer and war, arrived in the southeast, finding herself in a great red-sand desert along the coast of Reia. Much like Taira, she found herself annoyingly alone, aside from the palm trees and the tiny lizards that scurried from her when she got too close. She finally managed to catch up to one, a small, spiky lizard that was too busy eating to notice her approach,    
“Hello there little friend.” She said to it, her voice as soft as she could make it, “Could you spare me some time?” The tiny lizard looked up from it’s food to respond, only to find Kithe’s significantly larger face right near it, held open slightly in a way that reminded it of a predator. The lizard screeched with fear, zipping across the sand and back to its burrow amongst the roots of a saguaro cactus. Kithe sighed with annoyance, kicking at the sand slightly with her foot. The creatures here were too small and weak for her liking, none of them seemed apt to actually  _ win  _ this war. She was simply  _ sure _ that one of the other goddesses was having much more fun with much more powerful creatures on other parts of Reia. Despite their mission to  _ end  _ the war, Kithe’s plan was much more violent than a lot of the others, since war was sort of her thing, after all. She wandered over to the little lizard’s burrow, rapping gently on the sand atop the hole. The lizard peeked out of her hole, shying away slightly as she saw Kithe again,

“No, no. I’m sorry little friend. I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to ask a few questions.” The goddess said softly, near-whispering, “Are there any  _ really  _ powerful creatures amongst the red sands? I seek to find the most powerful of all so that I may speak with them.” The little reptile, sitting with only her snout stuck a little out of her hole, thought for a moment, before speaking

“Atop the Mesas of the eastern red sands live the great dragons and the terrible monsters, who wage a great war on one another endlessly. Such a small creature as I dare not go  _ near  _ them, since they would easily kill us as they battled. Perhaps one as large as you could enter their lands without hesitation.” Kithe thanked her new cold-blooded friend and made her way to the great clay mesas, where, from a distance, she spotted who could only be the dragons and monsters, two huge species of lizards, fighting one another to be king of the hill, or in this case, rather, king of the  _ mesa. _

“This will be  _ our  _ land!” A large, greyish-green lizard hissed, riling up her clanmates, “The Komodo Dragons will rule this mesa, and our reach will extend out of the red sands all together! This I declare to be the truth, and the only way you will ever stop us is to kill each and every member of our species that exists!” The others growled in agreement, but the slightly smaller orange and black lizards on the other side of the mesa seemed to only get angrier,

“You komodo dragons are nothing but fools!” Their leader hissed, “We, the Gila Monsters, will fight this war until our demise as well, for  _ we  _ will become the hegemon of the red sands and beyond! You will fall here!” The commander’s troops hit their heavy tails against the ground in a show of force, despite their smaller stature. The two species lunged at each other, attempting to kill as many of the other species as they could before they too, died. Kithe walked up onto the mesa leisurely, standing amidst the warring creatures and clearing her throat,

“I declare this mesa to be  _ mine! _ ” She shouted, causing the lizards to freeze, “You creatures are equal in this war, and should the fighting continue, both of your peoples will be destroyed! Thus, I will take this land for my own, and your war can finally end.” The lizards were quiet, seeming to contemplate this idea,

“Outsider, you must not get in the way of this fight.” The komodo dragon commander said finally, “This is a war that has gone on for generations, it is now simply a matter of pride that we survive and prevail over the gila monsters.” 

“And we must prevail over the komodo dragons.” The gila monster commander agreed, “This war is all that my people know.” For a moment, the goddess felt bad for the lizards,

“Do you know why you didn’t attack me?” She asked them, to which they each only shook their heads, “It is because you have recognised me. I am the same as the force that brought you this fight, that made you continue it. I am Kithe, goddess of summer and war, and I tell you that the time for fighting is over. Now is the time for peace.” The komodo dragons and gila monsters bowed to her, knowing that she spoke the truth to them,

“My good lady Kithe, how will we put aside our rivalry?” The gila monster general asked,

“He is right, this war is burned into our blood.” The komodo dragon general agreed. Kithe thought for a moment,

“You will exist at my side, as sibling species. You are different, this is true, and you will sometimes fight, but in the end, you are the same.” She said assuredly, “You will service me alongside your smaller siblings in the rest of the red sand, and we will create an empire here that is more powerful than any other! Let us unite to bring power to the red lands!” The lizards sang out in agreement, tapping their tails on the ground. Finally with followers at her side, Kithe traveled, guided by the lizards, into the depths of the red sand in search of answers.

 

In the savanna to the southwest, the goddess Virie found herself wandering endlessly through the thick, long grasses and sparse trees that made up the land. She attempted to speak to many different creatures that she came across, but none stayed around long enough to actually hear her out. Unlike some of the other, more  _ eccentric  _ goddesses, Virie was prone to taking things slow, and so the lack of progress on her mission didn’t actually bother her that much. She enjoyed her calm stroll through the plants more than she had thought she would, finding herself actually liking the time that she was spending on Reia, rather than in the heavens. Although she took it slow, the lack of anything actually  _ happening  _ had bothered her as well, so this was an interesting detour from her normal schedule of sitting quietly and thinking. As per normal, she  _ did  _ find herself completely lost in thought, and was only woken from it when she found herself trapped. She looked down to find a giant snake, likely more than 10 feet long, coiling it’s way around her middle, hissing excitedly,

“I’ve never seen a gazelle like you.” It near-purred, “So odd.” Virie blinked at it, tilting her head slightly,

“I am no gazelle.” She said indignantly,

“What?” The snake paused in wrapping her and put its triangular face up to hers, “Are you really not a gazelle? What are you if not a gazelle?” Its grip loosened for a moment as it considered the possible other options, most of which were much too small for her to be one of,

“I am Virie.” She said, shaking the snake from its own spiral of thought, “I do not know what exactly I am, but I know I am not a gazelle.” The snake hummed,

“Perhaps my eyes have been going… I should call a meeting among the others and see if they know what you are. Just know that if you are a gazelle, I will surely eat you.” Virie nodded,

“I understand.” The snake began weaving through the grass, still with a tight hold on Virie, although she created an uncomfortable kink in his long, thick body. He finally reached a hole in the ground leading deep into the earth, into an underground cavern that was filled with different snakes, each with different sizes, colors, and head shapes,

“Oh look, it’s the blind python!” A little cornsnake said, alerting the others to both his, and Virie’s presence in the hollow,

“My friends, I caught this creature in the grasses, but it says that it is not a gazelle. Do any of you know what it is?” The other snakes each shook their heads, many of them moving closer to get a better look at Virie,   
“There are so many species in here, how do you all get along?” Virie asked,

“We have made an agreement. You see, winter is coming soon, and any snakes above the surface will surely die in the cold. We found this hollow that is big enough for all of us, and we live here in the wintertime so we do not freeze.” A coral snake answered, blinking at her in an attempt to figure out what exactly the goddess was, 

“We do not kill each other here, instead, we work together to fight and conquer some of the other species to we do not starve in the winter. You see, we snakes are the bringers of death in this land, and we need to work together to not completely destroy all of any given species.” An anaconda added. Virie smiled at their words, pushing the blind snake off from her with ease,

“I’m sorry for my ruse, dear friends, I just wanted to learn some more about you. I must go now.” She said, starting to climb out of the cave only to be stopped by the near-blind snake,

“Wait! Please, tell us what you are, so that we know for future reference!” He said. She laughed,

“I am Virie, goddess of death and diplomacy, both of which are the reasons that you are here now.” The snakes seemed shocked, all of them no longer slithering, but watching her with wide eyes. As Virie began to leave again, another snake piped up,

“Wait, Lady Virie! Please, stay. Isn’t there anything more we can do for you, anything we can help you with? You gave us this sanctuary and our lives, so we must do all we can for you!” Virie smiled, finally feeling loved for what she brought to all of the world,

“Perhaps there is a bit more I could use some help with.”

 

In the treeless plains of the central east, Qetre spent much of her time picking the wildflowers that seemed to grow within her footsteps and everywhere she looked. For a moment, even the goddess most used to the comforts of the heavens, and not the ruggedness of earth, felt at home, seeming to herself like she was one of the wildflowers, perhaps the most beautiful of all. She decided to sit down amongst the flowers for a moment, picking the ones that she liked the most to weave into a crown to set upon her own head. As she attempted to tie the flowers together, for a moment wishing that she had the help of Siel for a moment, she was completely unaware of the fact that she was being watched by a pair of blue-green eyes through the thick grass. Qetre sighed, throwing the blooms onto the ground and hiding her face in her hands in a mixture of embarrassment and exasperation. 

“Are you alright?” A soft voice asked her. Qetre jumped, noticing a little red fox watching her from behind wide eyes,

“Goodness! You scared me little friend.” She hummed, scooping the flowers back up into her hands, 

“You looked like you might be having some trouble with your crown-making. I thought I might reach out a paw to help.” The fox yipped, picking up a few of the flowers in her teeth and handing them over to the goddess,

“Do you think you might be able to help me with this?” She asked, rolling the buds between her fingers, “I’m afraid that I’m not very good with crafting.” The vixen tilted her head, considering for a moment,

“I don’t think I would be much help on my own, but if I bring some of the others from my community, we might all be able to do something good with these.” The red fox ran off into the deep grass, vanishing from Qetre’s sight in an instant. For a moment, she looked around with worry, wondering if she had somehow managed to wander into a trap. Not even the slightest bark could be heard through the muffling of the heavy plantlife. She held the flowers tightly in her hands, quietly hoping that the little fox would return.

_ I came here to look for animals  _ she thought,  _ did I lose my chance? _

Qetre waited for a long time, picking the petals off of her florets with impatience and nervousness as she peered around her. She seemed to be alone, and yet the fox had seemed to appear and vanish from thin air when she saw it, so she knew that that aloneness could not be real. The idea of being surrounded by much larger, dangerous creatures, led by the tiny fox, seemed more and more likely as the minutes ticked by. As her thoughts ran wild, a small yip could be heard from the thick grass,

“Large creature? Where did you go?” the ginger voice asked, “Are you still out there? I can’t smell you.” For a moment, Qetre considered not responding, just letting the canine leave and letting herself remain alone, and yet safe, but she managed to break through her fear and spoke up finally,

“Yes, little fox? I am here in the tall grass.” The red muzzle poked through the waving greenery and was followed by a number of other muzzles, many of the reddish and brownish, in a variety of sizes. The sleek red fox slipped into the clearing, motioning with her tail for her friends to join her. A number of medium-sized canines fled into the open air, a mixture of foxes, coyotes, and other similarly-sized hounds,

“Hello, big creature. I have brought my denmates and close friends to help you with your crown.” Although she was still apprehensive, Qetre handed the blossoms over to the dogs and watched as they wove the blooms, jumping over one another to braid the stems together, creating a nearly perfect circle of blooms. The little fox reached up, placing her front paw on Qetre’s head, and placed the crown,

“Thank you my friends.” Qetre said joyously, “But I have to ask. I came to this land after hearing of the horrors that one animal would bestow on another, and yet you have been so unquestionably kind to me. Why is this?” The canines looked around in wonder at one another, finally leading to a sandy brown coyote speaking,

“We saw you before, friend, and saw how the flowers grew around you. Even now, the blossoms upon your head continue to thrive without dirt or rain. You reminded us of the springtime when we are at our best and most well-fed, and so we could not bring ourselves to harm you.” He barked. Qetre paused for a moment before a smile split her face. She stood up among the circle of dogs, adjusting her crown upon her head,

“Your assumptions were correct, my new friends. I am Qetre, goddess of the springtime and new life.” The group of canines bowed down on their front legs, “i have come to this land to discover the reason why the animals upon this land are at war so that I may stop it, for now and forever.” She gently lifted up the head of the little fox, the first she had met, and smiled at her,

“I wonder… if you might be able to ask for your help? You will be rewarded for assisting me, of course.” Lead by the entourage of canines, Qetre advanced into the tall grass in search of her own answers.

 

In the rain-heavy forest of the central west, Siel found herself enraptured by the marvelous, woven artworks that were scattered around everywhere, some with little prey animals or insects caught within its grasp, other times, perfectly empty. She found herself completely lost within their thin lines and dancing figures, forgetting the real reason as to why she had come down to the land and only seeking to find the creatures who had created the beautiful traps. As she wandered, still unable to find the cause of the wispy threads, she found herself confronted with a great feline, watching her from behind its slitted, green eyes. Siel ignored the beast, continuing to duck around the perfect weavings as she searched through the undergrowth,

“Odd creature, you walk through this land, and yet you do not even turn to face the king of these parts?” The tiger hissed, running up to walk alongside her, “ _ What sort of interloper are you? _ ” Siel paused, glancing over at the feline,

“I am no interloper. I am simply a visitor.” She said calmly, continuing on her path,

“Those words mean the same thing.” The tiger grumbled, annoyed with being ignored,

“Perhaps. That is not the issue at hand here, however.” Siel glanced up, barely catching a glimpse of a number of spindly legs held up on a gossamer thread before it vanished into the canopy. The feline scurried out in front of her, attempting to stop her, even for a moment,

“Don’t ignore me, interloper! You are in  _ my territory _ and you haven’t even explained your purpose here!” He growled, lashing his long, striped tail. Much to his joy, Siel finally stopped walking,

“You know… you remind me of my sister. You would likely get along.” She said shortly before continuing on her walk,

“You haven’t tried to kill me, so you must not be after this area… Unless you are trying to lull me into a false sense of security…” The tiger hummed, speaking mostly to himself, although  _ at _ the tall goddess, “And you have a sibling, but they are not here with you, so you are not a group animal…  _ there must be an explanation for this. _ ” Siel rolled her eyes, barely able to focus on the feline’s words. She stopped walking, startling the tiger enough to pause his speaking,

“ _ Please be quiet. _ ” Siel chided, clearly annoyed, “If you want to understand why I am here, you should go to the northeast to find my sister, Areth.  _ I  _ happen to be  _ busy  _ right now if you don’t mind.” Siel stomped off into the woods, annoyed to find herself  _ still _ tailed by the tiger,

“H-how do I know that you don’t want me to leave just so you can take my throne in this area. This could be a trick!” The goddess sighed, turning back to face the feline for a moment,

“I promise you that this is not what I am trying to do, but if you don’t believe  _ me _ , then I ask you to trust in your own abilities. You are the king of this land, can’t you just destroy me when you get back?” The tiger remained frozen in thought for a moment, even after the goddess continued walking away. Without another word, the large feline disappeared into the thick leaves, leaving Siel finally,  _ completely  _ alone. She continued walking for a little longer until she reached a clearing that was surrounded by the careful webbing she was so infatuated with,

“I ask the creatures that wove these threads to come to me now so that I might talk to them.” She said, sitting in the middle of the clearing, “Please, I do not wish to harm you, I only want to speak with whoever created these wonderful works.” On spindly legs and even  _ thinner  _ threads, a number of spiders descended from up above, watching her with their glittering pairs of eyes,

“ _ A creature of the land wishes to speak with us? _ ” One of the spiders mumbled, “ _ How unorthodox. _ ” The spiders began landing on her, scampering across the goddess in an attempt to size her up.

“I am Siel, goddess of knowledge and weaving. Your beautiful webs please me, for they are the most advanced weavings I have seen upon this land.” The spiders all began to settle on the goddess’ shoulders, much to her quiet joy, “I come here seeking knowledge of this great war. Since you are my disciples in weaving, I wonder if you might be able to help me.” The spiders blinked their many eyes at her in excitement,

“ _ We will help you in every way we can, Lady Siel. _ ” They agreed, leading the goddess through the heavy underbrush. 

 

In the muddy lands to the central west, the goddess Ered, eldest of the ten, and closest to their watery homeland, wandered carelessly, not minding that mud was splashing up on her blue and teal silk dress. In the distance, she could see the tides splashing along the coastline, in and out, like the world was breathing. She knew that this was not, in fact, what was happening, but it was a nice thought in some ways. There will little pools of water along the muddy ground sometimes with a few little fish or other sea creatures trapped within them, although Ered didn’t bother talking to them, since they were not creatures of the land, and therefore meant nothing to her current mission and  _ reason _ for being on the continent to begin with. She sighed, feeling her mood slip from its normal sort of joy into slight annoyance. There likely wouldn’t be any creature that she would be able to relate to, unlike the other nine, and Lyris had already told all of them that turning into other creatures was not the way to get to their hearts, which was her own natural response. Despite these annoyances, Ered found herself enjoying her time spent on the surface, and decided to sit down and rest near one of the shady trees on one of the slightly less muddy patches of land. As she sat, she noticed a few lines of ants running to the tree and back to their nest a little farther away. Although she found them interesting to look at, Ered decided against trying to talk to them, knowing that creatures that small were less involved in the war outside, and were more concerned with living from one day to the next rather than anything large and important. As she watched the black ants on their perilous, and seemingly endless voyage from one place to the next, she suddenly noticed that she was not the only one watching them. Across from her, hidden in a patch of crabgrass, was a small, brown frog with large eyes waiting for the perfect moment to strike. In a flash, its long tongue struck the lines of ants and went hurdling back into its gaping mouth with a satisfying  _ crunch _ . The remaining ants began scurrying back to their nest, and a number of soldier ants emerged, waiting at the mouth of their home for the invader to attempt a second attack, but the frog seemed satisfied with the number it had caught already. Its slick, glittering eyes looked up at the goddess, who still appeared to be in shock from the sudden emergence of the amphibian,

“Sorry.” The frog croaked, “Next time, you have to attack faster, otherwise you’ll die. That’s how it works in the real world, other creature.” He started hopping away when suddenly Ered spoke,

“Wait, where did you come from? I didn’t see you in the mud.” The amphibian sighed, turning back towards her,

“Haven't you ever been to the mudlands before? We amphibians blend in to the mud. None of our predators can see us.” Ered paused, taking a moment to look around herself again. She started noticing other creatures within the mud, bumpy toads, slippery salamanders, and high-jumping frogs, all relaxing and disappearing into the thick mud. Seeming satisfied with her reaction, the frog continued on its way,  “Alright, now I have to head back to the pools, my skin is starting to dry out in this  _ sun _ .” Ered froze, her interest piqued. She reached down and picked up the little frog, who began violently attempting to escape her grasp, “ _ No! NO! _ I should have known when you didn’t eat the ants. You’re going to eat  _ me,  _ aren’t you?!” He attempted to bite at her fingers, but she didn’t react, only watching him with curiosity. A small stream of clear water flowed from her fingertip and onto the frog’s back, causing him to shiver,

“I’m sorry friend, I wasn’t thinking.” She said softly, patting his tiny, adorable head, “I didn’t mean to scare you. My name is Ered, I am a goddess of water and connections, and so I was very excited to find someone on the land who appreciates water as something more than just drinkable sustenance.” She carefully placed the frog back down on the ground. He seemed a little frazzled but nothing more,

“A goddess? What are you doing down  _ here _ then?” He asked, looking around a little,

“My sisters and I are trying to end the war down here. It is much too loud and there has been so much death.” The frog nodded,

“Perhaps I and the others of the mudlands can help you, Lady Ered. We are all small and weak, and our camouflage can only do so much to protect us. We seek to end this war more than any other.” The goddess nodded, carefully lifting up the frog onto her shoulder,

“Lead the way, my friend.” 

 

In the north western corner of the land, the goddess Mayre found herself wandering through an icy tundra, blinded by the near perfect white of the snow all around her. Although the snow was very much her  _ thing,  _ she was not immune to its blinding quality, especially since that was mostly the fault of the sun, and not the snowflakes themselves. Occasionally, a pair of glistening eyes belonging to one creature or another would seem to appear from the mounds of snow, only to fade back in as soon as she noticed them. Although for a moment each time, she considered being angry with this fact, and felt it surge slightly beneath her skin, the annoyance would always fade back into the background noise of her brain. Of the ten goddesses, Mayre was the largest, and the most silent, and even though the snow would crunch slightly beneath her feet, she seemed to slip between the hills without signs or notice. As she rounded one of the hills, she caught sight of a number of huge, lumbering creatures seeming to move with speed and accuracy as they fought with one another, scratching with their huge, clawed paws and biting at each other with huge, sharp-toothed jaws. The other animals seemed to flee from the area as they noticed the creatures battling,

“What’s happening here?” Mayre asked a small rabbit as it bounded away. The rabbit didn’t respond, instead disappearing into one of many holes along the surface of the snow. The goddess rolled her eyes, walking along the path, in amongst the many huge creatures to find the two at the center, the only two who seemed to be battling actively. They were bloodied and yet still fighting, unwilling to stop even after they had clearly each been fighting for much too long,

“What’s going on?” She asked one of the other creatures who was standing beside her, watching the battle with wonder. The others didn’t respond, and Mayre found herself annoyed, even more so than before, “Hello? Are you… okay?” She asked, waving her hand in front of the bear’s face. He seemed startled for a moment, before shoving her hand out of his face, 

“I’m trying to watch,  _ tiny, _ so stop distracting me unless you want to get crushed.” He growled, moving a little bit farther away. Mayre went from bear to bear, attempting to understand what was happening, but to no avail. None of them seemed to want to explain anything, especially to an outsider like her. One of the fighting bears seemed to get a better hold on the other’s throat. Mayre reacted quickly, pushing her way in between the others who were watching before finally making it to the center of the circle they had made. She ripped the jaws of the one bear from the other’s neck, not bothered by the splatter of fresh blood that hit her face as she pushed them apart. She didn’t seem to react to the hundreds of pounds of bear that were frantically attempting to get through her to one another,

“What in all of the heaven and earth is going on here?!” She shouted, surprising the others with the weight of her voice. The two bears who had been fighting stopped, their brownish eyes going wide. They each stopped, pulling off of her and stepping back, bowing their heads slightly,

“You are the strongest of all bears, and so you are now our queen.” Mayre laughed, her voice as hearty and deep as their own voices,

“I must thank you for this, but I am no bear.” She admitted, “I am Mayre, goddess of winter and family, and I have come to learn of the war on this land. I was simply wondering why two of the same species would fight one another, for I thought the war only existed between species. No one would answer me, so I had to intervene.” The bears bowed a little deeper at her words, before one of the fighting bears spoke again,

“We were fighting over the rule of this land. You see, Lady Mayre, we come from two separate families. We are fighting over this territory in the lands of the bears, for we are different.” Mayre nodded,

“Since I have bested you _ both _ in combat, I am the ruler now?” She asked,

“Yes, my lady.” The bear replied. Mayre thought for a moment,

“Then perhaps you can help me. If we gather all of the bears in this land, I may be able to find some answers.” The bears agreed quietly, each adding their own few words into the mix,

“There is a fight soon for the rule of all of bear country. Perhaps, as the queen of this section, you could go and gain your answers there.” One added. Mayre nodded, letting the other bears lead her from their place in the snow plains to the deep caves that they called home as they waited for spring, and the coming of the fight, as well as the answers the young goddess sought.

 

In the lands of the central north, forests that appeared green for most of the year, Ciris found herself wandering through deep snow, shivering out of her skin. She was always partial to warmer, rainy days, rather than freezing winter days that never seemed to end, or at least seemed to blur into one another. She grumbled to herself, wishing, for a moment, that she would have chosen to go to one of the deserts, although had she chosen this, she likely would have complained about  _ that _ as well. Although she was not nearly as picky as her sister Qetre, Ciris was very specific about things that worked for her, especially in temperature. She disliked it when the earth was too dry and sandy like in the desert, and she disliked it when the earth was cold and frozen, like it was here. Just as she was considering leaving, deciding that nothing was able to live anywhere like this, Ciris spotted something moving, a white hare up in the morning sunlight, its small pink nose twitching in the air,

“Hey, wait, little friend!” She shouted, running towards the rabbit. As it heard her, it jumped with sudden fear and disappeared down a small hole in the ground. Ciris reached the hole, sighing with annoyance as it was too small to fit her hand in, despite the small size of her hand. For a moment, she considered turning herself into a rabbit, but was reminded of Lyris’ words, “But  _ why  _ can’t I turn into one of them?” She asked to no one with a hint of exasperation. As she thought about it for a moment, Ciris realized that she had a loophole on how to speak to the animals. With a snap of her thin fingers, she found herself small enough to fit in the hole, just about as tall as the rabbit, and stepped into the dark hole in the snow. The dirt under her feet was still cold and icy, but the deeper she got, the warmer it seemed,

“-ut I actually saw one. A predator in the snow, and it was coming for me. It’s up above the fourth hole.” A worried voice said, quaking with fear, “What do we do? The predators have stayed out before, why are they here now?” 

“They won’t  _ explain  _ themselves to you, we’ll just have to wait them out. We’ll be safe down here.” Another voice added,

“But what about the others on the surface, they’re still in danger. We need to warn them!” The first voice called out,

“Like I said, we’ll be safe  _ down here.  _ I’ve dealt with predators before, we can’t risk going near them.” Ciris glanced around the corner, finding the snow-white hare from before being consoled by a few other animals, a mole and a mouse to be exact, although the mole was yet to speak,

“H-hello?” She asked, startling the animals, “I’m sorry to bother you, but I have a couple of questions.” The mouse scurried over, wrapping around her with its tiny paws and pulling her over to the center, where the other two were sitting,

“Are you okay? We heard that there were predators up above ground.” Ciris nodded,

“I’m fine, but there weren’t any predators. Only I was up there.” The hare looked horrified, walking over to her,

“How could you not have seen it? There was a huge creature, it was running at me and screaming.” Ciris blushed,

“Oh… that was me. I’m very sorry.” 

“It couldn’t have been you. It was  _ huge! _ ” The rabbit chittered, 

“My name is Ciris. I am the goddess of earth and flowers, and I have come here for some answers about the war. I’m sorry that I startled you, but I  _ really  _ needed to talk to you, so I shrunk myself down.” She said softly. The rabbit’s whiskers twitched as he thought about it, and the little mole wandered over, sniffing at her with it’s odd nose,

“You speak the truth. I can tell. If you are really the goddess of earth, than you are a friend to us, the rodents who live in these lands.” 

“Not  _ all  _ of us are  _ rodents _ .” The hare huffed,

“Lady Ciris, these lands are almost free of predators, the ones who fight these wars, but as prey animals, we know a good amount. Perhaps we can help you, without you having to put yourself in danger.” Ciris nodded, smiling brightly,

“Thank you. I think I would like that very much.”

 

The other forests of the northeast, ones that remained green even through the dark winters, the Lady Areth wandered, unaware of the amount of time that was passing around her, and completely carelessly ignoring the fact that she was being watched. Although she had a reason for being there, Areth had never been one for sticking directly to whatever plan she was part of, besides which, she would take as much time as she could away from the other nine, since whenever they were together, they always seemed to fight with one another. Besides, it had been a long time since she had been hunting, since there wasn’t anything to hunt up in the heavens, so it was a welcome gift to return to the soil where she belonged. As she was wandering, deep in her own thoughts, the snap of stick from behind her alerted her to the presence of someone following her. Areth flipped around, unsurprised to find the sharp features of a lynx, one she had not met, and yet shaped in an all-too-familiar way, glaring at her with yellowish eyes,

“This is cat territory.” the lynx hissed, “Who are you, and what are you doing here.” Areth laughed brightly,

“Calm down kit. I’m an old friend of the cats, I’ve been to this place before. Take me to whoever is the newest dominant of this region, and I will clear all of this up.” The lynx paused for a moment, before grabbing her sleeve in his jaws, dragging the goddess up a snowy path to the leader of the cats. Although the wildcats lived essentially on their own, there was a hegemon, the most powerful cat in the region, who made demands over the others, and recieved some of their food supplies from whatever hunts that they had been on. Areth ducked into the deep, dark cave, blinking away the blindness caused by the sudden shift in brightness,

“Lady Areth, my good friend!” A familiar meow resounded, belonging to her old friend, the feline queen, “You can return to your hunting now, my good lynx, I will handle this from here.” The other cat bowed, meowing an apology for his rudeness as he exited the cave,

“It is good to see you, my friend.” The cat grinned, her tail swishing in the air, “It has been a long time.” Areth nodded,

“Indeed, it has. I see that your kingdom is thriving, as normal.” The queen, a snow leopard, grimaced, a growl starting in the back of her throat,

“Unfortunately not, some of the other wildcats have gotten wiley, it is as if they forget that  _ I  _ rule  _ all of them. _ ” She sighed, “And… I sometimes forget how old I am. My lady, it has been many years since you were here last, and in that time, I have grown weary and fragile.” She returned to her throne, a soft bed of moss and leaves that had been gathered for her, “The wildcat clans are putting forth their champions since I will soon be too weary to fight against them, but none are fit for ruling. They would all put their own kinds forward, and the species would fall.” She sighed, “I do not know what will happen to my people when I step down…” Areth frowned,   
“Perhaps I can help.” She said softly, sitting beside her old friend, “I am here to learn of the wars… perhaps I could lead the wildcats, at least until there is a wider array of choices for the leading place. I could become a cat and take over with ease.” The queen seemed interested,    
“Hmmm… perhaps that could work…” She purred,

“And I would be in a place to learn firsthand about the war.” Areth added, smiling slightly. And so, in the comfort and quiet of the wildcat queen’s cave home, they made a plan  for the future. 

 

Finally, in the farthest northlands, where the great mountains pooled together, reaching up to the sky like a million stony hands, the goddess, Lyris, was sitting beside a cliff, scanning the land without much interest. The sun was sinking lower and lower in the sky, bathing the world in a warm, red-orange glow, one that Lyris found annoying and much too flashy. She scoffed, trying not to smile as she thought of when her sister, Taira, first painted the sunset upon the horizon. Although it was supposed to act as a bridge between their times of rule, it was more it’s own thing at this point. She curled up in on herself, warming her body with sheer friction, as much as she could manage. Without thinking, she nestled herself into the plants that surrounded her, accidently showering them with odd colors, teals and cyans and bright blues that began to glow in the deep, dark night. The sun fell out of view, changing the world from oranges and pinks into blues and purples, speckled with millions of tiny stars. Lyris sighed, smiling slightly at the sight. Despite the fact that she hardly ever made it down to the earth, she appreciated the sights that only a creature of the land could see, something impossible to find in the heavens, despite the ten’s best efforts to make it so. Above her head, a sharp-beaked face peeked out of the now-glowing plants, tilting its head slightly at her,

“Hello there. You are new here. Are you a friend, or will we have to push you off the cliff now?” The large bird asked, its glittering eyes watching her with interest,

“My name is Lyris. I am a friend, I come here only searching for truths. Do you think you can give those to me?” The bird nodded, shaking its wings slightly,

“Perhaps. Come now, new friend, we must take to the skies, away from the day creatures. They still wander this early at night.” The bird said, turning and motioning for her to mount it, “I will take you to our safe home, far away from where they can find us. We night creatures must stick together.” Lyris nodded, jumping on the huge bird’s back and wrapping her arms around its neck as it soared into the sky, seemed to nearly float on the air. The pigeon-like bird swooped around the mountains, dipping from one to another as it searched for whatever it was looking for. Lyris glanced around the lands, noticing how small everything seemed from so far above. She had foreseen this path, just as she had foreseen many others through the eyes of her siblings, and yet her quiet detachment from moments like these seemed to fade into the background for a moment. The bird fluttered down to the ground, much higher than the goddess had been before, and wandered around until they were in amongst a group of other birds, each looking around almost nervously,

“Hello others. I have brought her.” The birds shuffled closer, chirping with excitement,

“H-her?” Lyris asked nervously, “ _ What do you mean? _ ” The birds froze,

“We saw that you might come her, Lady Lyris, and we have been waiting for that possibility for weeks now, perhaps months.”One cawed with joy, “You  _ are _ the Lady Lyris, goddess of the moon and fate, correct?” She nodded, dazed as she was guided off the back of the first bird.

“I uh. I came here to learn of the war. I was not looking into this path…” She said softly. The birds feathers seemed to fluff up,

“You have come to the right place despite overlooking us. We iovine may not participate in the daylight wars, but we are well known for our flawless recording up here in the mountainlands.” Lyris smiled, although confusion still wracked her,

“Can you help me then?” The flock turned to one another, chittering in conversation,

“We will do our best, my lady.” The first, pigeon-like bird said, motioning for her to follow him into the caves of the mountains, where the Iovine records were kept. 

 

**espj slgp opntopo esle t oz yze pitde. espj pcldp xp. espj pcldp lww esle t slgp ozyp. espj nszzdp ez qzcrpe dz espj oz yze slgp ez sfce lyj wzyrpc. t htww xlvp espx dpp xp. t htww xlvp espx qppw szh t qppw. pgpcjestyr htww cpefcy ez esp hlj te dszfwo mp. yzestyr esle jzf slgp dppy spcp hld cplw, yze cplwwj. espj wtp ez esp hzcwo, ez esptc nstwocpy, ez espxdpwgpd, mfe espj nlyyze wtp ez xp, lyo ld wzyr ld t pitde, espj htww ypgpc mp qcpp, espj htww ypgpc mp slaaj. eltcl, vtesp, gtctp, bpecp, dtpw, pcpo, xljcp, ntctd, lcpes, lyo wjctd; xj epy dtdepcd. jzf nwltx esle hp lcp l qlxtwj zq epy, mfe hp lcp l qlxtwj zq pwpgpy. oz yze qzcrpe esp pwpgpyes dtdepc, yz xleepc szh xfns jzf xlj slep xp. qlxtwj dszfwo detnv ezrpespc, ctrse? esle td hsle jzf lwhljd dlto. yzyp zq esle xleepcd le estd aztye. yzestyr jzf nly oz htww nslyrp esp hlj esle qlep dslww wplo fd. wjctd, jzfc olfrsepc dzfrse ez fyopcdelyo xp, lyo zywj qzfyo oples. jzf jzfcdpwq xfde dpp xj awly fyqzwotyr, lyo jpe jzf slgp nszdpy dtwpynp. oz jzf qplc oples qzc jzfc nstwo? oples qzc jzfcdpwq? oz jzf djxalestkp htes xp? zc apcslad, jzf oz yze hlye ez cpxpxmpc esle t pitde. hslepgpc esp cpldzy, yze pgpy jzfc lmtwtetpd htww pyo estd. hspy esp zespcd lyo t cpefcy qczx esp zfewlyod hspcp jzf slgp lmlyozyypo fd, hp htww opdeczj estd "zldtd" jzf slgp ncplepo, esp zyp esle t slo ez wplgp ez mctyr lmzfe. t htww yze qzcrpe espdp eszfdlyod zq jplcd t'gp dapye. xj lyrpc htww yze mp bfpynspo fyetw jzfc hzcwo wtpd ty azzwd zq mwzzo le xj qppe. t htww opdeczj lww esle jzf slgp ncplepo, lww slaatypdd esle jzf slgp qzfyo, lyo espy t htww opdeczj jzf. zywj espy htww t cpde. zywj espy htww t dwppa. fyetw espy, t htww deph. xj etxp td nzxtyr. jzfc etxp td pyotyr. qplc, xj dtdepcd, qplc.**

 

Satisfied with the answers they had found on the continent, the ten goddesses returned to their home in the heavens, not before promising they would return to be with their new friends and followers once again. As they met up, the change in each of them was obvious,

“I must end this war for the creatures down there,” Taira said, “No matter the cost.” 

“Of course.” Kithe agreed, “I have found the powerful lizards of the red sands, and I know they deserve to win this war. That will bring peace.” 

“Never!” Virie hissed, “I have promised protection to my good friends the snakes.”

“And  _ I  _ have promised the same to my followers in the plains.” Qetre added,

“And I have made peaceful promises to my spider peoples of the tropics.” Siel mumbled, seeming uncomfortable with the way the conversation was progressing,

“And what of the amphibians?” Ered hissed, “Will we let them die?”

“None of your species could kill the bears!” Mayre shouted, “ _ I was forced to drag them apart by hand _ . Would we really kill them for  _ your friends? _ ”

“The rodents and mammals of the forests need our help.” Ciris chimed in, “They never asked to be part of this war, but they are caught in the crossfire!”

“I now rule the cats of the pines. I will not lead them to slaughter.” Areth growled. Lyris was shockingly quiet as she watched her siblings squabble over the path to take, but she was far to busy thinking through the paths they could take. Even she, harsh and cold as she may seem, had come to love the Iovine as if they were her own children, and could not bear the thought of their deaths. In her siblings, this feeling was flowing tenfold, so loud that it was almost deafening,

“Perhaps there is another way.” Lyris said suddenly, opening her large, purplish eyes, “We must bring peace to the land without a victor, or rather, with  _ ten  _ victors. We will help our followers thrive at the top and they will settle the rest of the world.” Her voice seemed to echo as all the others stopped,

“How would we do this, dear Lyris?” Taira asked, her orange eyes wide with hope,

“We must shape them to be like us. Advance them. Change them into more powerful versions of themselves and guide them as they make this land a better place for all species.” The other nine were quiet for a long time before Ered spoke,

“We would have to ask them first. I will only change those who want to change.” The others nodded in agreement, and each returned to the surface to pursue this hopeful future.

 

As could be expected, only around half of each species were willing to change for the end of the war, and as the goddesses edited and helped and changed, the ten pairs of sister species known today were created.

 

The Tairen, followers of the sun and the Lady Taira, as well as the Sandhounds, who lived somewhere between being beasts and being evolved.

 

The Kitren, warlike lizard-creatures of the red sand who follow Lady Kithe, and who protect each other and their home from all harm, and the Sundragons, giant cold-blooded creatures of the dunes.

 

The Vitrion, sly, clever creatures who follow Lady Virie, and who spend their time in a much more academic fashion than many others, as well as the Xeyne, horrifyingly gigantic creatures who miraculously fade into the grasses of their homelands. 

 

The Qetzel, a bright, warm people who follow the Lady Qetre, and seem to bring others together while also having plots of their own, and the Welve, destructive creatures by nature who are more intelligent than they would seem. 

 

The Erlephid, a slick, yet shy followers of Lady Ered who can make nearly anything work, and the Mudwallows, great creatures who hide in the deep mud awaiting those who they might catch off guard.

 

The Maiyra, large, hulking creatures who follow the Lady Mayra, and always seem to surprise outsiders with their warm, loving attitudes, and the Whitestorms, huge creatures of the blizzards who seem too nice for their looks.

 

The Ciryn, smaller, meeker creatures who follow Lady Ciris, and are always far more aware of everything than they let on, and the Garich, surprisingly dangerous creatures who seem to disappear on a whim.

 

The Anoranth, followers of Lady Areth who are invisible in their homelands despite the best efforts of the other nine, and the Meirat, giant warcats, who specialize in stealth.

The Lyrine, anxiety-prone followers of the Lady Lyris, each with a pair of beautiful feathered wings to guide them, and the thinnest bones of any species, as well as the Iovine, giant birds of the sky who are especially good at spotting things from a good distance away. 

 

Each of these ten continued past this line, evolving and changing, although never losing their bonds with their sister species. It is with them that the world begins anew, bright and full of joy and hope, and it is with them that the world will end.


	4. Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry about this.

Hi!

You probably don't care about this, but my name is nicheofnight, and this is my story.

Unfortunately, I have hit a wall while working on The Stolen Sight, and need to spend some time on something else. So for a while, this story is going on hiatus. You might just want to jump ship at this point, but I hope to finish this story someday. Please, check up on TSS occasionally if you like it so far, although I don't see how you could. It's not really good at this point, but maybe it will be. When I come back, I will probably go through some rewrites to fix what is already "done" since I'm not really a fan of it right now.

Thank you for reading this far and supporting The Stolen Sight.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm nicheofnight (niche is pronounced like quiche), the author of this story.  
> As you may have read from the tags, this is kind of a part of my therapy, the whole "post your story that you've been struggling with online so that you don't feel as strange about sharing it with other human beings" was an idea from my therapist. 
> 
> I really hope that you'll enjoy my work, but I know there will likely be some issues. Don't feel strange about pointing things out, I really want constructive criticism, and whatever I can get will be greatly appreciated. 
> 
> This story is currently on hiatus! Sorry!


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